(approved by scpinion)
QC: Balor / iVid / SirSkit
GP: CryoGyro / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
**Fighting**:
Keldeo is the strongest of the few special attackers that Fighting teams have access to thanks to its great Special Attack, which makes it a necessary part of almost every team. This combined with Keldeo's good offensive typing and STAB attacks in Secret Sword, which hits special walls, and Hydro Pump, which hits physical walls, makes it a fantastic wallbreaker capable of hitting most of the metagame for a lot of damage. As most Fighting-types have trouble with physical walls, Keldeo's ability to break down the likes of Skarmory and Doublade, two particularly resilient Pokemon, is greatly appreciated. Keldeo also has access to Scald, which it can use to burn its switch-ins such as Mega Venusaur to make them less threatening. It even has passable bulk for a wallbreaker, which allows it to take even moves as powerful as Choice Scarf Kyurem-B's Outrage and easily OHKO back. This and Keldeo's great defensive typing allow it to easily check Steel-types such as Mega Scizor. While it's not that powerful, Keldeo does have access to a decent coverage option in Icy Wind, which helps KO or slow down Dragon-types that Fighting teams often have trouble with, such as Dragonite and Garchomp, or even common switch-ins to Keldeo, such as Latias and Latios. Keldeo can also run a Substitute + Calm Mind set to serve as a sweeper if needed. With base 108 Speed, Keldeo can revenge kill slower foes such as Mega Medicham and Landorus. Unfortunately, Keldeo is still barely outsped and easily revenge killed by Pokemon such as Latios, Mega Diancie, and Thundurus. Keldeo also suffers from four-moveslot syndrome, as it often wants to have Hydro Pump for its great damage but also relies on Hidden Power to avoid being walled by threats such as Slowbro, Azumarill, and Gastrodon.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker (Fighting)
move 1: Scald
move 2: Secret Sword
move 3: Icy Wind
move 4: Hydro Pump / Hidden Power Electric
item: Choice Specs
ability: Justified
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald is the most reliable Water-type attack that Keldeo has; it deals serious damage to most foes and can also burn switch-ins such as Zapdos to cripple and weaken them. For special walls such as Chansey that shrug off Scald, Keldeo has Secret Sword, a Fighting-type STAB attack that allows it to take advantage of their lower Defense. Icy Wind is a crucial coverage move that lets Keldeo avoid being walled by certain Dragon-types that resist its STAB attacks, such as Latios and Dragonite. Hydro Pump is Keldeo's strongest attack, which is capable of breaking almost any wall including even Zapdos and Mew, but it is less reliable and accurate than Scald and also lacks its chance to burn. For coverage, Keldeo will often run Hidden Power Electric to hit Water-types that resist Secret Sword such as Slowbro, Gyarados, and Azumarill for significant damage. Hidden Power Grass can be used specifically to hit Gastrodon, while Hidden Power Bug can be used to reliably hit Psychic-types and ease prediction against Psychic teams.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack investment and Choice Specs make Keldeo as powerful as possible to allow it to break most walls in the metagame. A Timid nature and maximum Speed investment help Keldeo outspeed threats wth base 100 Speed such as Mega Charizard Y and Mega Medicham while Speed tying with opposing Keldeo. The final 4 EVs are put into Special Defense to avoid giving Download Porygon2 a Special Attack boost, which would otherwise give it enough power to 2HKO Keldeo with Discharge.
Usage Tips
========
Keldeo should be brought in as often as possible to fire off its powerful attacks. Early-game, Keldeo can break walls such as Skarmory to open up holes for its teammates like Mega Gallade to sweep. Keldeo can easily spam Scald to burn its switch-ins such as Slowbro early-game, making it more difficult to check later on. Spreading burns can also help the team against physical attackers such as Dragonite. Late-game, though, Keldeo can also use its good Speed to serve as a strong cleaner. Secret Sword should be used against special walls to take them out quickly, but be careful of physical walls that take very little from it, such as Skarmory. Hydro Pump is generally used for its unmatched power, but Keldeo should be careful of its lower accuracy and PP, as some foes can stall it out; most notably, Zapdos can outplay Hydro Pump by stalling with Roost and Pressure. Keldeo's coverage moves handle specific targets like Azumarill but deal relatively low damage otherwise, so Keldeo often has to retreat after each use to avoid being setup fodder for other foes. It's recommended to preserve Keldeo's health as much as possible in some matchups. While Keldeo is a wallbreaker, it is often an important offensive check to threats such as Mega Scizor, Doublade, and Kingdra by virtue of its unique defensive typing, and unnecessary damage can prevent Keldeo from checking them. To that end, try to bring Keldeo in safely against Pokemon that can't touch it, such as Mandibuzz that lack Brave Bird, or attacks that it resists, such as Victini's V-create. Keldeo also has to avoid status ailments because burns and Toxic poison will quickly wear it down, while paralysis will cripple its Speed and make it easier to be revenge killed. Thus, while Keldeo can beat many walls, it has a hard time switching into them safely.
Team Options
========
Almost all Fighting teams require the use of Keldeo to get past many walls, so it requires less support than it gives. For example, revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Heracross and Terrakion appreciate Keldeo's ability to break down the likes of Doublade and Skarmory, which easily wall them. In return, Heracross can check Psychic-types such as Slowbro and Latios while also serving as a good status absorber, and Terrakion can take out Flying-types such as Zapdos and Mega Pinsir and revenge kill faster threats such as Mega Lopunny. Sweepers such as Mega Gallade, Hawlucha, and Lucario have a much easier time sweeping after Keldeo has broken down the walls that check them, such as Hippowdon. Having Stealth Rock support can be very useful because Keldeo forces switches quite easily, and breaking Sturdy and Focus Sashes from the likes of Skarmory and Breloom is important. One of the two main Stealth Rock setters is Cobalion because it also has good support options in Thunder Wave, which cripples faster foes like Latios, and Volt Switch, which safely brings Keldeo into play, while also being able to safely switch into Latios's Psyshock. Infernape is the other Stealth Rock setter; it checks Mega Scizor and Grass-types such as Celebi quite easily with its Fire-type STAB attacks, removing some of the pressure put on Keldeo. Both Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross can form powerful wallbreaking cores with Keldeo, as they can easily break each other's checks and take great advantage of balance defensive cores that can't withstand their combined pressure. Both can also take out Azumaril, one of Keldeo's main checks, with either a Fake Out and Zen Headbutt combination or Bullet Seed, respectively. Breloom is a decent utility teammate because of its ability to take out almost all Water-types, including those that check Keldeo like Slowbro and Azumarill. In return, Keldeo checks and can even switch into Fire- and Ice-types, such as Chandelure and Avalugg.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
**Fighting**:
Keldeo can use a Choice Scarf in place of Choice Specs to serve as a revenge killer instead of a wallbreaker. However, Fighting teams generally need the power that Choice Specs provides, as they lack other reliable special attackers and have access to other good Choice Scarf users in Heracross and Terrakion. Another item that could replace Choice Specs would be Life Orb, as it allows Keldeo to switch moves and potentially use Taunt. It wears down Keldeo very quickly and leaves it walled by the likes of Mew, though, making it a suboptimal choice for most teams. A completely different set that Keldeo can use is a Substitute + Calm Mind set that takes advantage of passive walls and potentially sweeps unprepared teams, but the immediate power granted by Choice Specs is preferred in most cases, as Keldeo has a hard time setting up in certain matchups such as against Flying and Fairy.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting**:
**Mega Venusaur**: Mega Venusaur utterly walls all variants of Keldeo. It easily switches into any move and threatens Keldeo with Giga Drain, forcing it to switch out immediately, but it doesn't appreciate being burned.
**Grass-types**: Grass-types that resist Secret Sword such as Celebi are generally good checks to Keldeo. They can switch into attacks other than Icy Wind and threaten to OHKO Keldeo back.
**Fairy-types**: Although few can switch into Hydro Pump, faster Fairy-types such as Mega Diancie and Choice Scarf Gardevoir can revenge kill Keldeo with their STAB attacks. Others such as Clefable and Azumarill can take one hit and either cripple it, with Thunder Wave in Clefable's case, or OHKO it back.
**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types that resist Water-type attacks such as Starmie and Mega Latias can check Keldeo quite easily. However, they often need to be careful of coverage; for example, Keldeo can beat Slowbro and Latios if they are caught by Hidden Power Electric or Icy Wind, respectively.
**Revenge Killers**: Keldeo can be easily revenge killed by many faster Pokemon, such as Serperior and Mega Pidgeot. Electric-types in particular such as Thundurus and Mega Manectric can force Keldeo out. Choice Scarf users such as Hoopa-U and Togekiss can also take out Keldeo if given a free switch in.
**Status**: All forms of status will make it difficult for Keldeo to properly wallbreak. Toxic poison and burns will allow some walls to recovery stall Keldeo and make it more difficult to be an offensive check to priority users, while paralysis makes Keldeo easier to revenge kill and makes some more offensive walls such as Zapdos capable of outspeeding and threatening Keldeo.
QC: Balor / iVid / SirSkit
GP: CryoGyro / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
**Fighting**:
Keldeo is the strongest of the few special attackers that Fighting teams have access to thanks to its great Special Attack, which makes it a necessary part of almost every team. This combined with Keldeo's good offensive typing and STAB attacks in Secret Sword, which hits special walls, and Hydro Pump, which hits physical walls, makes it a fantastic wallbreaker capable of hitting most of the metagame for a lot of damage. As most Fighting-types have trouble with physical walls, Keldeo's ability to break down the likes of Skarmory and Doublade, two particularly resilient Pokemon, is greatly appreciated. Keldeo also has access to Scald, which it can use to burn its switch-ins such as Mega Venusaur to make them less threatening. It even has passable bulk for a wallbreaker, which allows it to take even moves as powerful as Choice Scarf Kyurem-B's Outrage and easily OHKO back. This and Keldeo's great defensive typing allow it to easily check Steel-types such as Mega Scizor. While it's not that powerful, Keldeo does have access to a decent coverage option in Icy Wind, which helps KO or slow down Dragon-types that Fighting teams often have trouble with, such as Dragonite and Garchomp, or even common switch-ins to Keldeo, such as Latias and Latios. Keldeo can also run a Substitute + Calm Mind set to serve as a sweeper if needed. With base 108 Speed, Keldeo can revenge kill slower foes such as Mega Medicham and Landorus. Unfortunately, Keldeo is still barely outsped and easily revenge killed by Pokemon such as Latios, Mega Diancie, and Thundurus. Keldeo also suffers from four-moveslot syndrome, as it often wants to have Hydro Pump for its great damage but also relies on Hidden Power to avoid being walled by threats such as Slowbro, Azumarill, and Gastrodon.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker (Fighting)
move 1: Scald
move 2: Secret Sword
move 3: Icy Wind
move 4: Hydro Pump / Hidden Power Electric
item: Choice Specs
ability: Justified
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald is the most reliable Water-type attack that Keldeo has; it deals serious damage to most foes and can also burn switch-ins such as Zapdos to cripple and weaken them. For special walls such as Chansey that shrug off Scald, Keldeo has Secret Sword, a Fighting-type STAB attack that allows it to take advantage of their lower Defense. Icy Wind is a crucial coverage move that lets Keldeo avoid being walled by certain Dragon-types that resist its STAB attacks, such as Latios and Dragonite. Hydro Pump is Keldeo's strongest attack, which is capable of breaking almost any wall including even Zapdos and Mew, but it is less reliable and accurate than Scald and also lacks its chance to burn. For coverage, Keldeo will often run Hidden Power Electric to hit Water-types that resist Secret Sword such as Slowbro, Gyarados, and Azumarill for significant damage. Hidden Power Grass can be used specifically to hit Gastrodon, while Hidden Power Bug can be used to reliably hit Psychic-types and ease prediction against Psychic teams.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack investment and Choice Specs make Keldeo as powerful as possible to allow it to break most walls in the metagame. A Timid nature and maximum Speed investment help Keldeo outspeed threats wth base 100 Speed such as Mega Charizard Y and Mega Medicham while Speed tying with opposing Keldeo. The final 4 EVs are put into Special Defense to avoid giving Download Porygon2 a Special Attack boost, which would otherwise give it enough power to 2HKO Keldeo with Discharge.
Usage Tips
========
Keldeo should be brought in as often as possible to fire off its powerful attacks. Early-game, Keldeo can break walls such as Skarmory to open up holes for its teammates like Mega Gallade to sweep. Keldeo can easily spam Scald to burn its switch-ins such as Slowbro early-game, making it more difficult to check later on. Spreading burns can also help the team against physical attackers such as Dragonite. Late-game, though, Keldeo can also use its good Speed to serve as a strong cleaner. Secret Sword should be used against special walls to take them out quickly, but be careful of physical walls that take very little from it, such as Skarmory. Hydro Pump is generally used for its unmatched power, but Keldeo should be careful of its lower accuracy and PP, as some foes can stall it out; most notably, Zapdos can outplay Hydro Pump by stalling with Roost and Pressure. Keldeo's coverage moves handle specific targets like Azumarill but deal relatively low damage otherwise, so Keldeo often has to retreat after each use to avoid being setup fodder for other foes. It's recommended to preserve Keldeo's health as much as possible in some matchups. While Keldeo is a wallbreaker, it is often an important offensive check to threats such as Mega Scizor, Doublade, and Kingdra by virtue of its unique defensive typing, and unnecessary damage can prevent Keldeo from checking them. To that end, try to bring Keldeo in safely against Pokemon that can't touch it, such as Mandibuzz that lack Brave Bird, or attacks that it resists, such as Victini's V-create. Keldeo also has to avoid status ailments because burns and Toxic poison will quickly wear it down, while paralysis will cripple its Speed and make it easier to be revenge killed. Thus, while Keldeo can beat many walls, it has a hard time switching into them safely.
Team Options
========
Almost all Fighting teams require the use of Keldeo to get past many walls, so it requires less support than it gives. For example, revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Heracross and Terrakion appreciate Keldeo's ability to break down the likes of Doublade and Skarmory, which easily wall them. In return, Heracross can check Psychic-types such as Slowbro and Latios while also serving as a good status absorber, and Terrakion can take out Flying-types such as Zapdos and Mega Pinsir and revenge kill faster threats such as Mega Lopunny. Sweepers such as Mega Gallade, Hawlucha, and Lucario have a much easier time sweeping after Keldeo has broken down the walls that check them, such as Hippowdon. Having Stealth Rock support can be very useful because Keldeo forces switches quite easily, and breaking Sturdy and Focus Sashes from the likes of Skarmory and Breloom is important. One of the two main Stealth Rock setters is Cobalion because it also has good support options in Thunder Wave, which cripples faster foes like Latios, and Volt Switch, which safely brings Keldeo into play, while also being able to safely switch into Latios's Psyshock. Infernape is the other Stealth Rock setter; it checks Mega Scizor and Grass-types such as Celebi quite easily with its Fire-type STAB attacks, removing some of the pressure put on Keldeo. Both Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross can form powerful wallbreaking cores with Keldeo, as they can easily break each other's checks and take great advantage of balance defensive cores that can't withstand their combined pressure. Both can also take out Azumaril, one of Keldeo's main checks, with either a Fake Out and Zen Headbutt combination or Bullet Seed, respectively. Breloom is a decent utility teammate because of its ability to take out almost all Water-types, including those that check Keldeo like Slowbro and Azumarill. In return, Keldeo checks and can even switch into Fire- and Ice-types, such as Chandelure and Avalugg.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
**Fighting**:
Keldeo can use a Choice Scarf in place of Choice Specs to serve as a revenge killer instead of a wallbreaker. However, Fighting teams generally need the power that Choice Specs provides, as they lack other reliable special attackers and have access to other good Choice Scarf users in Heracross and Terrakion. Another item that could replace Choice Specs would be Life Orb, as it allows Keldeo to switch moves and potentially use Taunt. It wears down Keldeo very quickly and leaves it walled by the likes of Mew, though, making it a suboptimal choice for most teams. A completely different set that Keldeo can use is a Substitute + Calm Mind set that takes advantage of passive walls and potentially sweeps unprepared teams, but the immediate power granted by Choice Specs is preferred in most cases, as Keldeo has a hard time setting up in certain matchups such as against Flying and Fairy.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting**:
**Mega Venusaur**: Mega Venusaur utterly walls all variants of Keldeo. It easily switches into any move and threatens Keldeo with Giga Drain, forcing it to switch out immediately, but it doesn't appreciate being burned.
**Grass-types**: Grass-types that resist Secret Sword such as Celebi are generally good checks to Keldeo. They can switch into attacks other than Icy Wind and threaten to OHKO Keldeo back.
**Fairy-types**: Although few can switch into Hydro Pump, faster Fairy-types such as Mega Diancie and Choice Scarf Gardevoir can revenge kill Keldeo with their STAB attacks. Others such as Clefable and Azumarill can take one hit and either cripple it, with Thunder Wave in Clefable's case, or OHKO it back.
**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types that resist Water-type attacks such as Starmie and Mega Latias can check Keldeo quite easily. However, they often need to be careful of coverage; for example, Keldeo can beat Slowbro and Latios if they are caught by Hidden Power Electric or Icy Wind, respectively.
**Revenge Killers**: Keldeo can be easily revenge killed by many faster Pokemon, such as Serperior and Mega Pidgeot. Electric-types in particular such as Thundurus and Mega Manectric can force Keldeo out. Choice Scarf users such as Hoopa-U and Togekiss can also take out Keldeo if given a free switch in.
**Status**: All forms of status will make it difficult for Keldeo to properly wallbreak. Toxic poison and burns will allow some walls to recovery stall Keldeo and make it more difficult to be an offensive check to priority users, while paralysis makes Keldeo easier to revenge kill and makes some more offensive walls such as Zapdos capable of outspeeding and threatening Keldeo.
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